The whole issue of trail-braking or not is bullshit because every quick driver trail-brakes whether they talk about it or not. On faster tracks, like you find in Europe you might do it less but in the States you have more tight turns where you have to carry the brakes in there to help point the car and its an advantage by going deeper.— Robbie Buhl, Going Faster - Master The Art of Race Driving

Archive for August, 2009

The CIK has announced they are going to make mandatory on-board cameras for the upcoming KZ1/KF3 World Cup to be held at Sarno on the 6th September. With the introduction of plastic bumpers to karts over the years, race officials have struggled to keep pace with the increased contact in modern kart racing. Some tracks already employ CCTV to monitor on track behavour but the CIK have moved it a step forward by making sure every kart is equipped with Motorsport Hero Wide miniature cameras manufactured by GoPro.

CIK – “Karting must be exemplary as regards education” explains Luigi Macaluso, President of the CIK-FIA. “The international federation therefore naturally seeks to incite the participants to have the most sporting behaviour possible. Leaning on an opponent or even pushing him so as to overtake are methods which motor sport must reprove. As a matter of fact, there are disciplines, in particular single-seaters, where contacts, be they deliberate or not, are out of the question because a driver who is too bold or illintentioned risks retiring on the spot or having a mechanical failure. Since many young kartmen aspire to switch over to single-seaters, allowing in Karting what is forbidden in single-seaters would be both inconceivable and counterproductive.”

16 drivers took part in the August segment of the Plentong Open Championships series in a mixture of Aixro, DD2, Biland and Rotax engines.

A 30 minute qualifying would be followed by 2 heats of 15 laps on track configuration E, comprising of Plentong’s longest straight followed by the twists and turns of the standard configuration.

Ang Kok Wee qualified pole in a time of 52.40 secs. He was closely followed by Kelvin Choo and Leo Lim.

The first Heat of 15 laps were conducted with dark clouds surrounding the circuit. The weather held even though there was a fine sheet of drizzle on the track surface, making the initial laps of Heat 1 a very tricky affair. Heat 1 was eventually won by Louis Liew followed by Leo Lim and Thaddeus Lee.

Heat 2 was won by James Lee followed by Thaddeus Lee and Ang Kok Wee. Having crashed out during the early laps of Heat 1, Ang made a spirited drive through the field and stamped his reputation as the quickest driver of the weekend by recording the fastest lap of the weekend at 51.31 secs.

In a strong show of competition, the combined point total for the top 3 drivers was 19 points each. The podium order was therefore decided on top placing in the Qualifying, Heat 1 and Heat 2.

The entry list for the CIK-FIA KZ1 World Cup held a few surprises worthy of the event’s status as the season’s most important gearbox competition in the world. It will be held on 3-6 September 2009 at the international circuit of Sarno-Napoli (Italy), on a 1,700-metre track particularly adapted to this type of karts.

In addition to the entry of 76 Drivers (50% more than in 2007 and 2008), the CIK-FIA World Cup will have the participation of two prestigious competitors: Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber Driver in F1) and Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso Driver in F1). Despite their status of Formula One Drivers in active employment, Kubica and Alguersuari are preparing to face current karting specialists such as Jonathan Thonon (Belgium, winner of the last two editions of this World Cup), Davide Fore (Italy), Marco Ardigo (Italy) and Bas Lammers (Netherlands). In the last decade, only Michael Schumacher had dared to challenge the young kartmen, when in 1996 he won the CIK-FIA Monaco Kart Cup and was runner-up in the last round of the 2001 CIK-FIA Karting World Championship on “his” Kerpen circuit in Germany.

The merit of Kubica and Alguersuari is that they are taking up a difficult and daring challenge. Not only do they have the courage to enter the most competitive KZ1 event in the year but, additionally, during their international karting career they never competed in the gearbox kart category. One does not drive KZ1 karts, which are more powerful as well as heavier, in the same way as the direct-drive karts with which Kubica and Alguersuari respectively raced until 2001 and 2005.

Robert Kubica’s commitment to Karting is well known: he enjoys training at the wheel of a kart and never hesitates to invite his Formula One colleagues to join him. Quite recently, at his invitation, Schumacher, Massa, Vettel, Glock, Piquet, Liuzzi and Klien enjoyed themselves on a Karting track. Just like Alonso and Hamilton, the Pole has launched his own make of chassis, named after his initials, “RK”. At Sarno, he will obviously drive a kart of his make and will be entered by Birel Motorsport, the team of the Manufacturer whom he has entrusted with the production of RK chassis. He will be using Maxter engines.

Already entered in the European KZ1 Championship last June, Jaime Alguersuari had only taken part in practice as on that weekend he was called up by Toro Rosso to make his Formula One debut. The Spaniard is entered by the Intrepid team with which he already raced in 2005. He will be using TM engines

The KF Clubman concept has been thought up by Paul Fletcher to try and make KF more accessible for the club karter. While understanding the value of Rotax and similar classes Paul feels there is a need for a muilt-engine formula at club level to push competition between dealers and engine manufacturers. He also wants to make sure the class remains affordable.

What he came up with was initially titled KF3 senior. The kart was to have a KF3 engine with a KF2 ECU box and Dunlop SL4 long life tyres. Well he has one ready to test already and we went down to PFi to check out the ‘KF Clubman’!

We found the Dunlop SL4s very durable, however lap times are effected. But when money is tight who cares about a number on a lap timer?

British Karting Champion Mark Litchfield had a play as well! The kart used for the test was his trusty Marenello RS2 which he used last year to win the UK’s most prestigous karting title.

The kart was fun to drive and reminded Will Dendy of his time in Formula TKM

A missed apex! The Dunlop SL4 tyres need to driven with accuracy!

The kart handled PFi very well and wasn’t too tiring to drive!

Everything is the same as a KF3 but with a green KF2 electronic unit. This meant the engine can rev to 15,000 allowing for better low end grunt.

When KF first appeared from the CIK, I thought that it was the end of the world! To me, KF just appeared to be Rotax MAX on steroids with too much grip, and unnecessary front brakes. Then, at the start of the first KF season, Intrepid explosively announced that they were boycotting this years KF season because they felt that they wouldn’t have competitive engines.

Birel also decided to pull out of the first few races of the season due to lack of engine development. The complete and utter domination from Vortex and TonyKart at the European, and World Championships didn’t help the situation. You would be forgiven for thinking it has been a very shaky start for KF!

However, KF enthusiasm has been gaining momentum, and it now looks as if the KF philosophy might be exactly what the UK karting scene needs.

We reveal why Paul Fletcher thinks that Vortex doesn’t have the advantage as perceived by many, and why Mark Rose thinks KF3 as exactly what karting needs. James Mills comments on why he thinks KF parity is better compared to Rotax MAX, and Simon Wright describes why he feels KF3 will be better than Jr MAX. Ex-KF1 racer Ollie Millroy shares his views on KF.

Not forgetting the ‘small guy’, we ask the normal karters what they think about KF, with their main concern pointing towards ever-inflating costs involved with karting.

Paul Fletcher – PF International Kart Team and Circuit Owner

“The main cost with racing is in travel, hotels, and hiring mechanics. But the actual KF engines themselves are cheaper to run. The crank will last 10x longer than before, so they are definitely cheaper” When asked about KF into club racing he had this to say “Before, when asked by a junior what class to do, I would say Rotax, and the same for a Senior. Now I would recommend KF3, and KF2. It would be great to see Cadets, KF3, KF2, and then KF1 at all the clubs across the country. At the last Rotax Super 1 round there was huge interest in the KF program, and the up coming Winter Series”. On TonyKart’s dominance at the World Championship Paul Fletcher believes that “TonyKart were better organized. They ran like McLaren. I don’t believe the IAME engines were as slow as they appeared ”

Mark Rose – Karting Guru

“The CIK have got it right with KF2, and KF3 I must admit. I run Tom Grice in KF3 and we run our motors for nearly 20 hours. The reliability is 100%. The engine is fantastic.” However, Mark has concerns about KF1 “There should be a limit on data acquisition. TonyKart had 3 or 4 experts from Pi analyzing their data at the World Championships. I am by no means taking anything away from TonyKart, they have the best drivers, and have done a fantastic job, but the average team who wants to race KF1, just can’t compete with these guys. I would like to see this changed”.

James Mills – JM Racing

“In terms of entry level karting KF4 could be the better entry level option for seniors in karting than KF2. But the MSA stamped that out. I believe KF4 would be a better rival to Rotax. As it is, I think that karting will probably still see Rotax MAX as the entry level to karting, and MiniMax as the half way house between Cadets and KF3. I think Junior MAX will suffer.

The KF3 is really good and is exceptional quality. I have run several engines on a dyno and not had one that has lacked performance, unlike what happens with MAX engines. Out of the box 95% of our KF3 engines are competitive…the costs in KF3 aren’t going to be any different than in Junior Rotax. KF2… it’s difficult to say. The initial cost of a KF2 is quite a lot more than a MAX, but once your set up and ready to go, it isn’t bad at all. Unlike MAX, I can give someone an engine that will be good, but in MAX you can’t give someone an out of the box engine and expect them to go to Super 1 with it”

Simon Wright - Wright Karts/UK IAME Importer

“Engines sales of the KF3 will grow very fast. The Seniors will take a while because of the MAX. A lot of people will not feel the need to change over right away from MAX in the smaller clubs, but at larger ones like PFi we will see a change”. When asked about cost Simon said “KF2 costs are very small. I sold an engine in July, and have just had it in for a full service after 10 hours. Before with the 100cc I had it in every weekend. Running a KF3 at club level will be genuinely similar to running a Jr MAX. The KF engines are so similar, and if there is a difference you can pay a tuner to £300 to get it working. Compare that to MAX where you buy a new engine and have no idea whether it will be competitive. And if you want a competitive MAX engine it’s going to cost thousands. Also, you then have to spend money on a sealing agent if you want it rebuilt. With a KF, you can do it yourself”.

What about costs for the small budget club racer? “The problem you have there is ‘trying to achieve the impossible’. Karting is expensive. The thing with KF compared to MAX is value for money. They only cost a few hundred quid more but you know you’re getting an engine that’s good or equal to any other engine out there.”

Ollie Millroy – Ex-KF1 Karter

“At first it was quite hard to get used to the KF1 due to the lack of power compared to the 100cc engine, but as far as racing goes, I thought the reliability of the KF engines was much better than the old engines. However, some say they don’t need to be rebuilt as much, but everyone was still rebuilding them every race”. On whether costs could increase for the normal club racer Ollie had this to say, “Yes they could, although if you have a look at racing in Europe there is no TKM and not a lot of Rotax compared to the UK. They seem to manage better. I think one of the main problems with karting in the UK is that there are just too many classes”

What About the Average Club Karter?

The positivity towards KF is very large from the big players in karting. But what about the average Joe, how will KF affect them? The CIK have already pointed out that KF will be -

More Attractive:

- Reliable, but nonetheless very high-performance

- Identification of hobby drivers with professional kartmen

- Modern complete package

- More adequate for newcomers

We asked the Manchester and Buxton Kart Club legend, and the archetypal average Joe - Chris Kasch - what his thoughts are on KF, whether he can afford to ‘identify with professional karters’, and if he thought KF would be ‘more adequate for newcomers’.

“I’m a little suspicious about it to be honest, and that’s probably down to little snippets I’ve read about shortages of engines and teams not be able to compete etc… Basically, I don’t feel like I know enough about it as a club driver and that’s where the suspicion comes from.

I kind of like the idea of having a recognised national class that everyone can progress through, rather than this fragmented nonsense we have at the moment that only succeeds in diluting grids. But the cost element of KF really does worry me.

I used to race in Rotax for two years but got to a point where I didn’t feel like I could compete properly, mostly because of the tyres (a little bit on the engines too). I race on a ridiculous budget. I make my tyres last three, sometimes 4 meetings and in TKM I can almost get away with it, that’s why I chose TKM. It’s cheaper to compete in TKM. The engine rebuilds are more often than the likes of Rotax (and we’re led to believe KF), but they are cheap, and I can also have an engine that I know isn’t too bad compared to the top drivers.

What’s happening with KF on the tyres? Are they going to be sticky tyres that need replacing every meeting? Engine rebuilds…how often? (and by that I don’t mean silly claims, I mean how often to be competitive), and how much? Also, will I have an engine that’s competitive that doesn’t cost the earth to get?

My fear is that us low budget drivers aren’t going to be able to race in this new series/format and if it takes hold then we will be slowly squeezed out of karting for good. The worst thing is that there isn’t much information about to allay any of these fears, probably because the governing body’s don’t know themselves if the balance is struck correctly. It could be great, but experience tells me that it will be cocked up and we’ll be in a bigger mess than we are now”.

Sam Murphy is 16, and a complete ‘newbie’ to the world of karting. Has the CIK’s promise of making karting more attractive to newcomers actually holding true with guys like Sam?

“With karting I haven’t really paid much attention to it until the last few months. Only until now at 16 I am starting to save up for a kart to be able to get started in karting. With karting, it always seems to be a sport for the ‘rich kids’, which hasn’t made me focus on it as much as I could, as I’m not rich. Luckily for me Buckmore Park is only 5 minutes away, which makes it easier to get information on karting.

I have been seeing around websites and forums about a new class called KF, I’m not actually sure on the whole concept of karting classes as I am still learning but have heard that the KF package costs £2k for just the engine. To me this is crazy money and doesn’t attract me to the sport in anyway as I don’t have that kind of money to be spending on a kart and most people who are interested in starting karting wouldn’t either.”

Sam Blake is a driver getting ready to make the move from TKM (one of the cheapest classes) to KF3. He says,

“Going in to the last round of TKM Super 1 we fully expected to be staying in TKM. Hearing the news of the new TKM regulations the choice to move to KF3 was a no brainer. The prospect of competing in much smaller grids will take TKM even further away from mainstream karting.

Our main concern of moving into KF3 only occurred with the initial outlay. The engines at the moment cost twice the amount that a TKM would, but later in the year when the bare engine is available it will bring the cost down. We rang Strawberry Racing expecting the CIK chassis to be much more expensive than the TKM chassis, but on studying the spec it is no more expensive than the TKM chassis e.g. no stickers, no steering wheel etc… and furthermore with £300 of the Tonykart, it was a very good deal.”

So, is KF going to save British karting, or kill it?

The jury is still out on that one, but I am optimistic that KF could be the class that can stitch together currently fragmented British karting. If KF thrives we could be in a situation where karting is united across Europe, and possibly the World giving each manufacture more motivation to promote karting as a whole, rather than having classes competing against each other for numbers. However the purchase cost of a KF engine is something we need to keep a close eye on, as it could be the decisive factor in the success of KF.

I’m going to show exactly what 3 of the world’s fastest kart drivers are doing on the UK’s most simple hairpin corner. I have deliberated a great deal about whether or not to release this information, because if you can nail this perfectly you won’t need a coach!!

All you need to do is exactly copy these drivers to become terrifically fast…Of course when you get to the track you will find this rather tricky…but you have to start somewhere right!

Here we go…

Jason Parrot newly appointed official Maranello Factory Driver

Watch the karting clip of Jason Parrot here first. Then carefully read these notes, because it’s the detail that counts here!

1. Jason approaches his braking zone with his posture set, sitting upright. He then moves about a foot away from the edge of the track….because he knows the kart is about to step out when he brakes, and he knows by how much exactly.

2. Watch carefully and listen hard for when he brakes. He brakes hard and the kart’s rear steps out.

3. Jason knew this would happen and holds the slide with gentle adustment. Listen carefully to those tyres scrabbling for grip, also notice he has allowed the kart to drift back toward the very outside if the track before he turns in.

4. Before he turns the wheel into the hairpin, notice he has the kart sliding with a little opposite lock. Then at his turn in point, he turns the kart into the corner.This is the important bit: he turns the wheel gently and holds the steering wheel in postion…he does’t turn in hard, he turns gently with minimum turn.

5. He holds that steer angle on the wheel until he hits the apex. And take not how he hits a late apex

6. As soon as he hits the apex he straightens the wheel

7. Next important bit: After straightening the wheel he still needs to adjust the direction of the kart- so he makes tiny adjustments, anxiously, and then gets the wheel straight again…he is constantly concerned with keeping that wheel straight ahead, and only turns in small increments…absorb this point!

Summary: get a feel for Jasons style. he brakes hard and feels the slide, his next priority is to use as little steering as possible, holding the steering angle on the way into the apex, then straightening on exit, keeping adjustment to minimum. You can see he is very keen to get that wheel straight ASAP.

Jon Lancaster- Birel factory driver

Check out the Jon Lancaster karting video then carefully read the notes so you can see why he is so damn quick!

1. Jon clearly drives with an intention to sit in the right position to best help his kart work.Notice how he holds his head back all round the lap.

2. Play the video as slow as you can and see if you notice this. Just before Jon hits his braking point he changes his seating very slightly. He braces himself, pushes against the wheel a touch and his head moves back slightly…..Why? He wants to keep his weight over the rear to maximise braking power!

3. Listen carefully and you will hear Jon hit the brakes hard enough to make the tyres scrub….However, his kart doesn’t kick at all, he stays perfectly straight with the kart beautifully balanced

4.This is the first important bit. Jon turns in very gently planning for a late apex. Most drivers looking for a late apex turn very late and very hard. But Jon turns earlier, but very gently.

5. Watch very carefully and you will notice that Jon carefully and intentionally drives a specific line. He steadily increases the angle of steer after the initial gentle turn in…he makes the kart desrcibe a perfect late apex line…not by drifting round but by steering exactly where he wants the kart.

6. Once he hits his late apex, the wheel is straightened for that fast exit.

7. Look closely and you will see John also makes small fast adjustments to his wheel on exit. He wants to keep the wheel straight as much as possible, so if he needs to turn he twitches the wheel ever so slightly and gets it straight again.

Summary. On the way into the corner Jon holds the wheel steady after a gentle turn in. This means the kart is stable and predictable and therefore fast! It also means that the rear left tyre can handle early power application for a fast exit…Try it yourself- turn into corners with a constant angle of steer, gently increase the angleas you approach the apex. You should notice the kart feels more stable.

Marco Ardigo Tony Kart factory driver

Take a look the Ardigo karting video first and then we can get into the details of why this guy is so quick

1. Ardigo is deceptively fast, maybe the smoothest cleanest driver you’ll see. You have to be very sharp to notice when he brakes. If you listen carefully you can just make out the sound his tyres make under braking….this guy is looking after his tyres!

2. Of the three drivers Ardigo turns in the most gently. He uses a slightly tighter line than the others too, but still hits the late apex.

3. If you can watch this in slow motion you will see that on his approach to the corner’s apex he is holding the steering wheel at a constant angle. Pay attention to the rear inside wheel…he is holding the rear inside wheel just above the track’s surface at a constant height. This makes the kart super stable and means he can get on the power early.

4. As he exits the corner he noticebly twitches on the wheel. You can notice this with Ardigo more than anyone else. He straightens the wheel early on exit, then needs to turn the wheel a touch…but soon as he does that he wants it straight again….then finds he needs to turn more….he is making a big effort to keep that wheel straight!

Summary: Marco Ardigo is super smooth and extremely accurate. His pre-occupation seems to be with gettin the wheel straight as soon as possible on exit, and keeping the steer angle constant during cornering so as not to upset the kart.

Overall, I want you to notice that all these drivers seem absolutely glued into their seats whilst cornering. They are keeping their body weight stable because that helps keep the kart stable and predictable….and thats the key to keeping your steering input to a minimum, and therefore maximising the forward acceleration of your kart.

Karting1.co.uk had a news brief that Kart UK has a new product which is a puncture-proof trolley wheel.

If you are in the same predicament as we are in which we continually face trolley tires that turn flat every 2 weeks or so, you are likely to also find that shifting your karts to and from the paddock to be a serious body workout. In such a scenario, this new product from KartUK could be an investment that you could do with.

The product brief for the new wheels can be summed up as follows:

NO Air
NO Tube
NO Problems

No more punctures with this new black puncture-proof lightweight micro cellular polyurethane tyre on a red polypropylene rim.

In karting there is nothing more satisfying than elegantly sliding up the inside of another driver, with your kart pitched sideways, tyres chirping away whilst you delicately adjust braking pressure to maintain traction. It’s one of those times when you feel like the world is in slow-motion and you are a driving god!

In my experience with coaching, it’s the drivers who learn to really enjoy playing around with braking that go places fast, so it’s where I’d like to start with you.

Step 1 in Mastering Braking

To master your braking you need to remove any fears you might have with locking up and spinning. And the way to do that is to go out on track and get really medieval with that brake pedal. Remember your kart is a beast and you need to tame it, and to do that you need to show it whose boss. Here’s what to do (this is great fun too)

1. Choose a sharp corner with a short straight before it (so you aren’t going so fast you get scared)

2. Choose a braking point slightly earlier than normal.

3. Make your normal approach but give yourself a bit more space at the edge of the track….you may find you need it.

4. Drive flat out to your early braking point and stamp on that brake pedal! Really give it a bang

5. Your right foot needs to come off the throttle, and your left foot needs to exert maximum pressure on the brakes in a flash, your feet should be a blur! BANG IT.

6. After the initial bang on the pedal, release some brake pressure and control that kart. Be ready for the kart to snap sideways and snap back again when you come off the brake.

When you hit the pedal you should sense all or at least one of the following.

- The kart breaks loose at the rear and you have to come off the brake to control the kart

- The tyres make a high pitched ‘squeal’

- The engine notes drops very suddenly (and almost stops if you are clutchless). If you don’t sense any of these you need to hit the pedal even harder and even faster.

Now, if you are hitting the pedal as hard as you can with no result, get your brakes re-kitted because they aren’t working! And if you keep spinning, it means you are holding on the brakes too long. Release the braking pressure after that initial hit so the kart comes back to you.

This takes practice and your timing needs to be spot on, so you need to learn to get off the brake in time for the kart to come back to you, then you can turn into the corner. But stick with it because you are learning extreme kart control. You are learning that even when you are violent and excessive on the brake pedal you can still control that kart, and that means you won’t be scared to push your brakes to the limit…and you will be able to make those crazy looking out-braking moves that the pro’s pull off.

How to Refine Your Braking Technique and Get Faster

Ok, so now you’ve had your fun let’s get into the serious stuff. While you were getting used to really nailing the brakes you might have noticed that your kart became even livelier and more responsive. Also, in taming the kart under extreme conditions you will have developed a new level of feel for how much grip is available, and how hard you can push. So now we need to take advantage of all of those, and maximise your new potential.

Science bit: When you hit the brake there is a moment just as the tyres are beginning to lock, when they are producing the maximum braking traction. And as a race driver it is your job to keep on the throttle for as long as possible and therefore shorten braking distance as much as you can. So to do that, when you brake you need to keep the tyres in that region where they are almost locking to get maximum braking force.

A great way to help increase the braking force is to make sure you keep your body weight over the rear wheels during braking. So when you are about to hit the brake, brace yourself slightly and push back into your seat.

Steps to Using Your Braking Technique for Quick Times

1. Choose a braking point. Use your usual braking point if you have one.

2. When you hit your braking point hit the brake hard and fast again.

3. Be sensitive on the pedal and hold the brake pressure so that you can sense the wheels beginning to lock, you should hear that scrubbing sound, and a sweet chirpy sound. If you feel the wheels lock release the pressure slightly. This is like learning to play guitar, you have to practice and be sensitive

4. Be aware that whilst maximising your braking you will be tempted toward the apex too early, keep the kart straight for as long as you can and turn in late for the corner when you are almost finished with braking.

The idea is to exert maximum braking pressure at your braking point, and then start releasing the pressure as you approach the corner. Lesser karters than you will be doing it the other way round, pushing the brake harder as they approach the corner and finding they keep spinning.

Once you are really comfortable with this kind of advanced kart braking you can move on to refining your exits and using advanced karting steering technique, to make sure you keep the kart’s speed at a maximum.

Learning to brake hard in a kart is a very rewarding aspect of driving and I promise you will develop new level of sensitivity and involvement in driving, so keep hard at it and keep practicing!